Second Criminal Court annuls sentence that acquitted Zacarías Ferreira and orders a new trial

Santo Domingo.- The Second Chamber of the Criminal Court of the National District annulled in all its parts the sentence issued by the Ninth Criminal Chamber that had acquitted the artist Zacarías Ferreira of criminal responsibility for the alleged violation of the Copyright Law in the interpretation of the song “Te quiero a ti”, whose original title is “Tú no correspondes” by the singer-songwriter Danny Daniel. The magistrates’ decision concludes that the judge of first instance incurred an inadequate and erroneous assessment of the evidence presented during the process, according to a statement released by the interpreter’s lawyer, Carlos Salcedo. With the annulment, the criminal and civil process returns to its initial phase. In criminal matters, there is no longer any final ruling against the artist, while the civil lawsuit for an indemnity of 20 million pesos must be heard again before another court that will assess the evidentiary elements without the deficiencies indicated by the appellate court.

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Salcedo stated that, until the celebration of the new trial, his client is “completely free of sanctions and maintains his rights and good name intact, as there is no proven violation of the Copyright Law.” The jurist described the decision as a “procedural triumph that reaffirms the presumption of innocence and respect for the principle of strict legality in the assessment of evidence“. Cancellation returns the case to the starting point and opens the way for a new judicial evaluation in both the criminal and civil spheres.